Introduction / Purpose

Do you have a background in Cyber Psychology or Human Factors in Cyber Securitywith a passion for applying your expertise in real world settings to deliver high impact research that makes a difference? Are you keen to play an active role applying your expertise to help current and future UK Defence and Security challenges? If so, Dstl want to hear from you.
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We have an exciting opportunity for three Applied Cyber Psychologists or Cyber Security Human Factors Specialiststo join a growing community of experts delivering rigorous advice, training and research in support of the UK’s national Defence and Security requirements. These roles offer a unique opportunity to apply your psychology and / or human factors expertise to a mixture of short and long-term challenges in a dynamic setting where you can have real impact.

You will join an established, diverse and supportive team in preparing, leading and delivering research to understand how humans operate in the cyber domain, respond to cyber-attacks and mitigate against cyber threats.

Dstl recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion as people from diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas. We are committed to building an inclusive working environment in which each employee fulfils their potential and maximises their contribution

We particularly welcome female and ethnic minority applicants and those from the LGBTQI community, as they are under-represented within Dstl at these levels.

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At Level 4, Dstl Cyber Psychologists or Cyber Security Human Factors Specialists understand and apply psychological and human science theories, models and research methods to real-world challenges in the cyber domain, explaining their relevance to a range of customers across the Defence and Security enterprise. You will be working as part of a team and engaging with a varied customer base. You will be passionate about the pursuit of ethical working, scientific excellence and professional standards and will enjoy testing these principles in a dynamic workplace. You are eager to expand your knowledge, learn about new domains, and deepen your understanding of scientific theory. Your communication skills will help you to build relationships and identify opportunities to test new mechanisms and processes to solve complex and shifting challenges, communicating them to both experts and non-specialists.

At Level 5, Dstl Senior Cyber Psychologists or Cyber Security Human Factors Specialists (in addition to Dstl Level 4) draw on research and relationship skills to collaborate with suppliers from industry and academia, who deliver some / elements of our research. When collaborating with suppliers, you have the knowledge and experience to assure the research is scientifically sound and delivers successfully, helping to maximise its value for our customers. You will also craft and scope future research which will help the Ministry of Defence to deliver a robust, evidence-based and assured capability. As part of this, there may be opportunities to lead and / or deliver exciting and innovative research within inter-disciplinary teams.

At Level 6, Dstl Principal Cyber Psychologists or Cyber Security Human Factors Specialists (in addition to Dstl Level 4 and 5) provide technical direction and assurance for our research studies and drive their exploitation. You will hold leadership positions within our Science and Technology Programmes, specifically in relation to research supporting our cyber customers. You will help to deliver a confident, capable and resilient workforce of cyber professionals. You will have a drive to deliver, and an ability to empower others to deliver, as well as excellent engagement skills with customers, which lead to strong relationships. There will be days when your priorities will need to shift unexpectedly, or you will be posed with an ambiguous challenge; the successful candidates should be able to thrive in such conditions.

At Level 4, 5 and 6,the skills you use in your role will enable you to engage with our clients and support others to deliver robust research evidence and impact. These skills include: strong research experience in designing, leading, and delivering studies; competence in assuring and collaborating with industry, academic, and international partners; a focus on impact; and strong interpersonal skills. You will enjoy working with an open and friendly team and recognise the value each of us brings.

In this role you will:

At Dstl Level 4

• Support the delivery of psychology and / or human factors research against Defence and Security challenges, either through leading discrete pieces of work (where you are responsible for your own research and analysis) or assuring research delivered by industry and academia.
• Work collaboratively as part of inter-disciplinary teams (including working with partners across industry, academia and internationally) to deliver innovative and effective solutions to our customers’ problems.
• Provide support to planning and conducting psychology and / or human factors – focused exercises and trials, as well as analysing the data produced.
• Develop your understanding of the UK Defence and Security domains.

At Dstl Level 5 (in addition to above)

• Provide technical leadership and advice throughout the planning, execution and delivery of psychology and / or human factors research, identifying exploitation opportunities to maximise the impact of Science and Technology across Defence and Security.
• Provide timely, impartial, coherent, evidence-based advice and input to projects in response to customer requirements, across Government and Ministry of Defence.
• Scope, manage, assure and review work conducted by our suppliers to ensure high quality research is delivered that aligns with customers’ expectations; support and empower the supplier team to own the delivery and exploitation of research.
• Provide rigorous review of approaches and outputs, identify technical risk and dependencies and lead on project to programme reporting.
• Champion a project across a broad network, work effectively with customers, and build good relationships with researchers employed in other parts of MOD.

At Dstl Level 6 (in addition to Dstl Level 4 and 5)

• Build relationships with senior customer communities across Government in order to champion robust decision-making and maximise the impact of research.
• Provide technical expertise to the Dstl Programme leadership in the direction and development of future research programmes.
• Work with customers and the military to understand their needs and challenges and shape their requirements for advice; identifying, encouraging, and implementing innovative solutions.
• Align your research with overall programme objectives and seek opportunities for collaboration and exploitation with complementary research being conducted elsewhere in the research programme; ensuring coherence of advice to customers and maximum value for money for Defence and Security.
• Promote partnership behaviours when working with our suppliers through our commercial frameworks.
• Provide advice to support our endeavours to build and sustain external capability (in academia and industry).
• Build employee engagement and create an environment that nurtures excellence.

As required, you may also work across other S&T research programmes, sharing your expertise in personnel research with those from other disciplines.

We are looking for people who have:

At Dstl Level 4

• Experience of designing and delivering research, as a psychologist or cyber security human factors specialist.
• The ability to communicate complex research to technical and non-technical audiences, selecting an appropriate method of communication to maximise the impact of the research (i.e. technical reports, briefing memos, presentations etc.).
• Self-motivation and is comfortable working independently under their own initiative, but with the ability to work collaboratively within inter-disciplinary teams.
• A commitment to continued professional development and a willingness to up-skill in new / emerging areas and / or work outside your immediate area of expertise.

At Dstl Level 5 (in addition to above)

• Experience in leading and influencing the technical direction of psychology and / or human factors research, to ensure high impact research is delivered.
• Considerable knowledge of psychological, and / or human factors theories, models and concepts.
• Experience of research design, methods and analysis, particularly quantitative.
• Experience of scoping, managing and delivering research.
• An ability to work collaboratively and across disciplines, and maintain strong working relationships with a broad range of individuals.

At Dstl Level 6(in addition to Dstl Level 4 and 5)

• Experience of generating and implementing the strategic direction for a team of researchers / analysts; inspiring enthusiasm for new programmes of work.
• Experience of managing the demand for work from customers within and outside of their organisation and implementing solutions that reflect on strategic priorities and team capability.
• Consultancy skills to support customers to define their research requirements; provide constructive challenge; and understand what outcomes they want to achieve.
• The ability and resilience to handle changing requirements, to manage customer expectations and communicate effectively with colleagues to support reprioritisation, often at pace and in periods of high pressure.
• Experience of leading, overseeing and assuring the work of others to deliver high impact research and managing its technical direction.
• The ability to engage and influence others at various levels of seniority to maximise the impact of research.

At Level 4, 5 and 6,we are interested in candidates who have experience of working in the following technical disciplines: Cyber Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Human Factors, Human-Computer-Interaction.

We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience of applying their knowledge of these technical disciplines to understand the human component of the following domains:

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Dstl’s full range of great benefits can be found in the information pack which includes:

• Financial: An excellent pension scheme starting from 26% employer contribution (find out more here). In Year Rewarding Achievement bonuses and thank you vouchers. Rental deposit scheme and cycle to work scheme.

• Flexible working: Options include alternative working patterns such as; compressed hours (e.g. working a 4 day week/ 9 day fortnight), job shares and annualised hours (agreed number of hours per annum paid monthly i.e. working term-time only).

• Working hours: Flexibility around your working day (e.g. start time, finish time). Ability to bank hours in a 12 month reference period including the ability to accrue and use 3 days per calendar month.

• Where you work: Depending on your role, blended working may be available including remote working to suit you and your team. This can be discussed at interview.

• Annual leave: 25 days pro rata (rising to 30 after 5 years) plus 8 public holidays with the ability to buy/sell 5 additional days per annum.

• Family: Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks with full pay, an additional 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid

• Learning and Development: Dstl encourages and supports charterships, accreditations and provides employees access to fully funded apprenticeships up to level 7 (Masters Degree). Dstl will pay for 2 memberships with relevant bodies/institutions. Employees also have access to Civil Service Learning.

• Facilities: Onsite parking, EV Charging points, restaurants, cafés and gyms.